Spaced out dub my favourite, thank you Hold Tight Records, Dub Kulcha, Kreed and Chad Dubz for the aural fix! This three track digital release is coming in September and anyone who is a fan of ‘Dub Syndicate’ style reggae will appreciate it.

Founded in 2014 as a collective of music enthusiasts, Hold Tight Records was born in Bristol in the UK. Bringing together a host of local producers, their aim is to bring a variety of music styles and signatures to their releases. In their own words they pride themselves in being ‘purveyors of positive vibrations, all we will achieve hopefully puts a smile on your face.’ Great sentiments and on hearing these three tracks they don’t disappoint.

I have a theory about these tracks (which is probably bonkers and maybe fuelled by the caffeine fix I have just had). I can hear a narrative running through this EP, a story of a civilisation on the brink of disaster, a story of false idols and a vengeful god. First track, Dub Kulcha’s ‘Seeker Dub’ is an Asian influenced steppas track and makes for a calming spiritual opening. This first chapter of the story has a joyous lyrical feel. Images of decadence are conjured up, this is a world of indulgence and has a calm before the storm feel to it.

Track two, Kreed’s version of ‘Seeker Dub’ ramps up the story, lovely keyboard riffs are the voices of warning, this civilisation cannot keep living like this. The empty spaces further into the track offer more warning and an air of tension. Third track ‘Lion Strength’ by Foundation Audio head-honcho Chad Dubz is a massive wall of sound, ginormous bass sounds mix with apocalyptic echoes and effects. The keyboard sounds like a ticking clock, it’s a countdown to something dreadful. The bass provides the mood; it’s quite oppressive, whilst the effects sound like scared chatter in the background. This is your final warning…….

OK, bonkers maybe but there is no getting away from the fact that these are excellent tunes. All those involved have brought their collective experiences and influences and have produced three tracks of classy spaced out dub. Have a listen to some snippets below, they are tracks that need to be played loud to fully appreciate the depth of sound. The EP is out on September 2nd exclusively to Juno then across all stores on 16th September, buy it!

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